The ANC’s deployment committee in the North West has asked for more time to consult with lawyers over a request by a former Rustenburg councillor for records of the decision, if any, to support the appointment of advocate Ashmar Khuduge as municipal manager for the Rustenburg local municipality.
In his letter last week, former Rustenburg councillor Ratanang Nke, whose Arona party was previously in coalition with the ANC to govern the municipality, gave the committee until Tuesday this week to comply with his demand for copies of the records showing the decision of the impugned appointment or face legal action.
Letter from law firm
The ANC responded by sending a letter requesting an extension of the compliance deadline until April 8. De Swardt Myambo Hlahla, a law firm, wrote the letter on the same day.
“We had not had the opportunity to properly consult with our client and will only be able to be in a position to do so on Thursday, April 4 2024,” Tshepo Hlahla wrote.
Nke resigned on January 15 as a proportional representation councillor for the Arona political party.
His offensive against the ANC came as he had already taken the municipality to the Mafikeng High Court in 2023, challenging Khuduge’s alleged irregular appointment.
On Tuesday last week, he moved one gear up in his quest to reverse Khuduge’s appointment when he filed a supplementary affidavit, giving the municipality and other respondents 10 days to file a reply to his papers.
Minister cited as one of respondents
Among the respondents are Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Thembi Nkadimeng and North West cooperative governance, human settlements, and traditional affairs MEC Nono Maloyi, who filed a notice to abide by the court’s decision.
The sought-after records Nke is demanding include the deployment committee’s notices, agenda, attendance registers, minutes, and resolutions when the ANC considered the municipal manager’s appointment.
Nke also demanded correspondence for the ANC caucus meeting of September 8 2023, which was held at the Rustenburg Civic Centre’s caucus room 4.
He said the process leading to Khuduge’s appointment was flawed because the advertisement for the vacant position of municipal manager was non-compliant in that it was not placed in newspapers for the prescribed minimum period in line with regulations.
He claimed that Maloyi, who is also the provincial chairperson for North West, supported the non-compliance allegation in the compliance evaluation report he had written.
Non-accredited service provider
He added that the selection panel of the municipal council unfairly and arbitrarily considered the candidature of Khuduge when his application was late, without a rational explanation or any explanation at all, when it had no right to do so.
Further, he said the municipality utilised a non-accredited service provider, the South African Local Government Association, in partnership with a company named MIE to conduct competency assessments.
At the time of the interviews and appointment, there was no proof that the candidates were screened, Nke said, adding that criminal checks were yet to be conducted.
He said he had reason to believe that prior to the municipal council taking the impugned resolution to appoint Khuduge, the matter would have served before and was considered by the deployment committees in the province or the Bojanala region, which included Rustenburg.
